


The Legacies of Darkness and Light

by BlackbloodxX



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: All of the Blights are here too!, Bianca isn't dead, Even though fighting them really sucks, Eventual Romance, Guardians Now Included, Has BotW elements but not really, It's all humans and monsters, Kronos is Calamity Ganon, M/M, No Gorons or Zoras or Ritos, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Royalty AU, Slow Build, The Roman Empire Kicks ass, The triforce is still there but in color!, Wars are being fought people, Will has his own rebel army, Will is the Badass in this story, Zelda Breath of the Wild AU, cause he is once again the badass
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-05
Updated: 2018-04-12
Packaged: 2018-10-28 05:24:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10824669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackbloodxX/pseuds/BlackbloodxX
Summary: Will Solace was a nobody prince who loved simply being the healer in the palace of Delphi when suddenly the Titan Kronos had appeared after a long 50,000 year slumber to finish his mission to destroy the world. The first place the Titan attacks? Delphi, in hopes of killing the Legacy of Light who was destined to destroy him for good.Nico was the dark prince of Astia, a kingdom that lives under the shadows of Death Mountain, where he is known to be a powerful shadow caster and a necromancer. Many people fear him and for the longest time thought the prince had no love in his heart.These two are the only ones who can save Olympus from the Titan. Gods help them all.The Zelda Breath of the Wild AU!





	1. The Fall of Delphi

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So! Some things to cover first! First off, this might be a Breath of the Wild AU but at the same time it's not. It has some concepts from the game that I use in the story and Olympus is pretty much laid out the same way as Hyrule. There aren't any Gorons or Zoras or Ritos or Guardians or shrines and towers, it just has similar concepts that will eventually show up in the story. The Biggest Things that is similar the game is the layout of Olympus, some key areas that are similar (they just have different names) and Kronos is Calamity Ganon. Also the blights that you fight in order to free the Divine Beasts in the game are also present.  
> SO! Here are the names of the kingdoms and where they are if you pull up the map from Zelda Breath of the Wild so you don't get confused!  
> Delphi --> Gerudo Town  
> Astia ---> Death Mountain  
> Salrune ---> Zora's Domain  
> Olympia -->Hyrule Castle/Castle Town  
> Roman Empire ---> Rito Village

Will could predict what happened in his life since it followed a routine. He might have been a prince, but he was very young compared to his many siblings and so he didn’t have to worry about royal responsibilities. That didn’t mean he didn’t have anything important to do that didn’t contribute to the palace. He was one of the best healers in the city, which was a good thing when you lived in a desert and medical plants were hard to come by. Many knew that if you were looking for Prince Wyld, to always check the castle’s infirmary. Will was very proud of the work he does, but that didn’t make his life very exciting. In fact, he found it rather dull at times. There wasn’t a better time to regret ever thinking that than right now though.

Another loud roar filled the castle’s throne room, followed quickly by the sound of people screaming. No one knew how this started or where it came from but it was clearly hostile. A beast of some sort, standing so tall that it’s head just narrowly avoids hitting the high ceiling, was staring down at the royal family. All of the royal guards were lying dead at the monster’s feet, so only Will’s brothers and sisters, as well as the King himself, were standing alone and unarmed.

“So, you’ve finally returned after being gone for 50,000 years and you plan on taking Delphi first. Making up for a past mistake?” The King practically growled at the beast, back straight and eyes narrowed in distain. Will always had a respect for his father, he was a kind man who’s always been a courageous soul, even if idea of love is somewhat naive and misguided (hence his many siblings that Will can’t even begin to count). Even now, practically glaring down this giant monster, King Apollo showed no fear.

“50,000 years? It couldn’t be…” Lee, Will’s older brother, muttered. No one heard the man speak except for Will, only because he was practically hiding behind him.

“How do you both know that beast?” Will whispered to him. He flinched as soon as his mouth opened when said beast started glaring them down as if assessing them. Why no one had moved yet was grating on Will’s nerves.

“Really? The one who always has his noes buried in a book doesn’t realize the historical beast before him?” Leave it to Lee to be teasing in the middle of a crisis. Said brother relented once he noticed Will’s panicked and unamused face. Relenting, Lee said the name that drained all of the color from the young prince’s face. “The Titan Kronos.”

Almost as if speaking the Titan’s name broke some sort of spell, the beast began to speak.

“ _You know why I am here, King of the Sun. One of your children carries the legacy and I will devour them whole_.” Kronos spoke. His voice shook the very foundation, practically radiating power. Will stole a glance at his father, and for the first-time Will saw fear in his eyes.

Kronos stood poise in his wolfish form, studying Will and his siblings as if waiting for a sign. A few moments of silence followed once more and that was when the beast finally snapped.

“ _So be it! Since the legacy refuses to reveal themselves to me, then I shall kill them all!_ ”

In a sudden spark of power, dark energy practically bled from the Titan’s body, snuffing out the light that was spilling in from the high windows. Four creatures made from shadow and black ooze materialized from the darkness, each large and crackling with different elements. With a terrible shriek, all of them let loose a powerful storm of lightning, water cascading down from the ceiling, being whipped around by strong winds, and fire somehow hovering over the beasts’ heads. Yelling filled Will’s ears as some of his bolder siblings tried to make a run for it. With a twist of one of the smaller beast’s arm, fire rained down upon those that ran, smothering their bodies in intense heat and killing them before they even had a chance to scream. There was nowhere to run, the only exit was being swallowed by the shadows the Titan was hiding in.

“Damn you Kronos!” The King yelled. A horrible roar that sounded like laughter filled the room, no doubt the Titan already wallowing in his victory.

“ _Have no fear your highness, you will be joining your children in death!_ ”

The black mist dissolved around Kronos, revealing the giant wolf like beast, standing on all fours with his back hunched over. His eyes that mirror the surface of the sun was boring into the Kings eyes. Suddenly darkness started to practically leap from the Titan’s shadow, gathering in a pool at the base of his jaw. It was charging some kind of attack and no one could move less they risk one of his minions cutting them down.  
A stream of pure darkness shot out of Kronos’ mouth, aimed directly at King Apollo. And that’s when Will saw pure white.

“NO!” The scream practically torn from Will’s throat and it felt like the heavens themselves practically jumped to attention at the sound of his voice. A pure golden light enveloped Will bursting outwards to intercept the blast. It swallowed the shadows whole and continued to expand, practically devouring every inch of darkness greedily, passing through him and his siblings with a sigh. Kronos and the four beasts disappeared in a flash of white, leaving the throne room empty of any threats. Lee quickly turned around and grabbed at Will before his face met the ground when he collapsed.

“Lee, take your brother and get him to the griffon stables. Now!” Apollo’s voice rang through the haze. Will could hear the desperation and worry there but he couldn’t tell why. Strong arms enveloped him and dragged him away from the throne room and Will saw a tired smile on the King’s face before the stone doors swung shut behind him.

“Lee…” Will croaked. His voice sounded so hoarse and his limbs felt like jelly, but he could still make out the blond curls of his older brother.

“Hush little brother, we need to get you out of here.” Lee whispered as he half dragged Will further into the palace. There was another shout, then a horrible roar before it was drowned out by the roaring in Will’s ears.

“Lee…I can’t just….” Will’s tongue felt like it was too large for his mouth, his words sounding slurred. Every word felt like a battle to get passed his lips.

“Yes, Will you have to leave, you will be killed otherwise.”

“Why?”

“Prince Wyld!” A voice called. Lee thankfully turned so Will could also see who was running to them even though he knew who it was based on their voices. Even in his delirious state the prince could recognize the sound of his retainers.

“Travis, Conner. Thank the Goddess you’re here. Quickly we need to get Will to the stables, which means you have to cover us.” Lee ordered.

“The stables? Prince Lee, what’s happening? Why are we taking Wyld to the stables?” Travis questioned.

“You mean you don’t know?”

“No, a wave monsters flooded the town but we’ve been holding them back and evacuating citizens.”

“Kronos has returned, and he’s here for Will.” Travis and Conner both turned their gazes to Will, horrified by the news. Heck, Will would be horrified too if he could focus on anything other than the dull ache in his head. The brothers nodded and drew their swords, Travis taking the lead while Conner walked in the back.

The walk was mostly uneventful except for the occasional roar of a monster and the sounds of battle as they neared the stables towards the main gate that separates the castle from the town. Whatever monsters that were raiding the town hadn’t made it to the castle proper yet and Will still hadn’t heard or seen Kronos or the terrible blights he summoned. Travis sometimes had to stop them because he saw movement around the corner but he waved them on when whatever danger he saw passed. After what felt like an eternity passed in Will’s delirious state the familiar sound of claws on cobblestone and angry chirps filled his ears.

Griffons were essential to the city of Delphi even if its visitors have commented on how odd it was seeing such majestic birds in a desert. Since there aren’t very many sources of water and no snow this far west, Delphines have resorted to breeding these birds with the purpose of carrying the gatherers to the nearby mountain to gather snow from the top and bring it back as a source of water. The problem, as Delphines learned, was that griffons bred very quickly in a controlled environment and the once dying breed now flourished in incredible numbers so they now no longer have to fear extinction. Now many of Delphi’s citizens have their own griffons to carry them out of the desert and into the rest of Olympus.

Lee, very carefully carried Will over to the pen where Will’s own griffon Witherfang was patiently waiting for her rider. Will was careful to keep his body tucked close to Lee in order to avoid losing a limb because, while tamed and familiar with the people entering the stable, griffons are still capable of tearing humans apart and nothing was more dangerous then an agitated griffon. It was very likely that they could sense that something was wrong and their fight or flight instincts have taken over. Witherfang, however, was the only griffon calm and collected from the presence of her rider.

Lee hoisted Will up and carried him the rest of the way bridal style. Witherfang stood and met them halfway, lowering back down so Lee could place Will down on her already saddled back. Out of instinct Will grabbed the reins so he doesn’t get thrown off, even though his grip is slightly clumsy and weak. Will heard the sounds of Conner and Travis both soothing their griffons, as Lee grabbed a bag of emergency supplies that the staff keeps in the stables for emergency evacuations.

“Now listen very carefully Will. You must flee from here. Take your retainers and fly to the Temple of the Goddess as quickly as you can.”

“Why?” Will interjected. Lee gave a sad smile.

“You know how the legends went Will. The legacy of light is the only one who can defeat Kronos for good. Since he failed to kill you he’ll send some monsters to march to the Temple next, and cut us off from magic for good.”

“ _If the birthplace of the world falls the ties between man and Gods be forever broken and with it the magic to shape the world._ I know that Lee but what good would killing me have done anyway?”

“Really Will? You managed to displace Kronos and his lackey’s forms with a power none of us knew you even had and you’re asking me why?”

“Yes, I am…”

“Will…you are the Legacy of Light.” Lee declared. A heavy pang vibrated across Will’s entire being. He was the one who was destined to banish the great evil for good? The prince shook his head vigorously.

“No…”

“Will…look at your right hand.” It was such a gentle whisper that Will almost didn’t hear it. He could hear the reverence in Lee’s tone, almost as if speaking at all would make whatever miracle he was looking at vanish. So, Will did as his brother said and looked at his hand.

There in clear sight was the Pyramid of Legacies on his right hand, the four colored triangles glowing dimly. The left triangle glowed a brilliant blue, as if reflecting the ocean’s surface, the symbol of unwavering courage. The right triangle, a rich green that matches the color of fresh grass, was known to be the symbol of leadership. The middle triangle that serves as the body of the symbol was a very dark purple you could almost mistake it as black, was the symbol of power and strength. Finally, the top triangle, the one that was glowing the brightest on Will’s hand in a constant flash of gold, was the symbol of light and wisdom.

“But how…?” Will whispered, awestruck by the beauty of the glow the mark was giving off. Suddenly another loud roar echoed, the sky starting to turn black from powerful magic.

“Kronos must have managed to reform himself. There isn’t much time left. Go to the Temple of the Goddess, don’t let Kronos cut you or the other Legacies off from your magic.”

“What if he doesn’t go there though? How long will I have to stay there?” Angry shouts filled the nearby court yard followed by heavy footfalls that no man could make. Lee looked out of the stables with concern.

“You will know when the time to leave the Temple comes. For now, stay there and protect it, no matter what.”

“Lee…”

The sound of lightning drowned out whatever Lee had said before he slapped Witherfang on her hind leg. Shocked, the griffon took off from the stables and took to the air. Will felt his lungs practically drop into his stomach before Witherfang evened out, and instead of flying away Will steered the griffon to circle the palace. And what Will saw before his eyes was something that would haunt his dreams for many years.

King Apollo and some of his siblings were luring Kronos away from the palace. Will could make out Kayla and Austin firing arrows that bounced uselessly off the Titan’s bulging muscles, Michael and Charlotte were yelling colorful insults at him that would have normally gotten them a slap on the wrist by their tutors, and Lee raced to his father’s side. Apollo leaned down and nodded grimly at whatever it was Lee had whispered into his ear. Kronos kept a steady pace, practically taunting at the humans who would undoubtedly fail, a wolfish grin to match with his demonic beast form.

Apollo led them all to a closed off section of the palace, a rusted iron gate that had been locked many years ago leading into the high mountains that overhang the palace. Only the royal family knows what’s behind that gate, a marvel that has attracted many visitors to the city of Delphi in hopes of uncovering that closely guarded secret, and Will watched as his family retreated within the cliffs. Kronos roared in anger, and disappeared right behind them, his tail smacking the gate with a hard force the gate slammed closed behind him.

Will waited with bated breath, unsure if he wanted to see Kronos reemerge or not. What felt like an eternity later a white light seeped through the iron bars of the gate followed by a large mass of shadows. Kronos, in all of his demonic wolf glory, circled the mountain like a bird of prey, releasing what would be the final roar. Raw magic started to ooze off his body, coating the city and the palace both in a blanket of mist. Conner gave a warning shout and the three of them turned their griffons to fly north. Will turned in his saddle and watched as the white light still spilling from the gate expanded and devoured the Titan once more, before the Mist settled over the town completely and blocking anything else from his sight.

Holding back tears, Will thought on the last words Lee gave him. The prince might not have heard them but he had gotten good at reading lips over the years. Stay strong little brother. I love you.

“I will save you all.”

And then four long years happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One thing, comments are my life!
> 
> And since I'm in college right now don't expect a lot of updates anytime soon, I have a lot of ideas in this story and no time to really write so...it'll update whenever I can get to it.


	2. Defeat at Salrune

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nico was just visiting to have a chat with Percy about how Salrune feels about the long silence from Delphi. Shit hits the fan though when a horde of monsters invade.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One thing to note about this chapter! The castle of Salrune is pretty much like the Zora's Domain in Breath of the Wild, except there's a town beneath it for the citizens. How people can live in a town with a castle hovering over their heads is a mystery to me, but I like the idea so we're sticking to it!

Nico could feel the nervous energy that was coming off everyone he walked past in waves. Once, he would have been bothered or maybe even upset of how people reacted to his presence but years of practice makes it easy to filter it all in the background. He had much more important things to take care of and the fears of others does nothing but leave him irritated. It’s not like he was alone. He had his sisters Bianca and Hazel and her knight Frank who always were supportive of him. He also had friends like Reyna and Jason who always had his back. Then there was Percy…

Nico stopped abruptly in the hallway and shook his head. He wasn’t about to go down that road again, especially not right when he was about to see him. He can’t afford to think about his petty feelings towards his fellow prince, and not because Percy’s already a married man. The past four years have been chaotic to say the least, and King Hades sent Nico to discuss plans with the neighboring kingdom of Salrune. Four years to the day, and there still hasn’t been a sound from Delphi either and people are starting to think they are the blame for all of these monster attacks. He couldn’t afford to get lost in those sea green eyes, not with so much at stake.  


The dark prince finally arrived to the door that was Percy’s office. Originally it would have taken Nico ages to find his way around the palace, with all of its twisting turns and pointless open aired stairs that led to random parts of the castle. With a tentative knock, Nico entered Percy’s office, to find the sea prince standing by the nearby window and looking out, not even turning to address his visitor. The oddest thing was, Percy was alone.

“Percy? Where’s Annabeth?” Nico looked around the office and couldn’t see the kingdoms strategist and princess anywhere, which was so weird since Nico has never seen her not glued to Percy’s hip.

“There was a sighting of monsters outside the castle town, Annabeth went to investigate. Could be nothing though, monsters have never dared travel this close to the castle.” Percy shrugged. Waving Nico in, Percy took his seat at his desk, Nico sitting on the opposite end.

“But at the same time, it could be something huge, which is exactly why Annabeth went.” Nico finished for him. Percy gave a grim nod.

“It’s been four years Nico, and only the outer towns have suffered the worst of monster attacks despite our efforts to help them.”

“Helping the villages is the best we can do in this situation.”

“That’s the thing Nico, we haven’t been needed to help them!” Percy interjected. Nico raised an eyebrow at this.

“So those rebel forces are here in Salrune too?”

“You mean these random group of people waving around that flag of a Griffon hugging a Sun? Yells that the kingdoms need to step up their defenses because a greater threat is coming blah blah blah? I take it they were sighted in Astia?”

Nico shook his head. Leave it to Percy to be professional. Sometimes Nico wonders why he has feelings for this guy.

“Yeah, they’ve been holding down the border towns. The only reason we haven’t marched down there to kick them out is because they only deal with the monsters. They leave our soldiers alone.” And that was what Nico didn’t understand. For a group of extremists who clearly have opinions about the kingdoms, they seem too organized. Almost as if they have some sort of code for when they come across any of the guards and how to handle the situation. More than once Nico tried to convince his father King Hades to march a group of soldiers down there to remove them from Astia grounds. Nico personally volunteered to do the deed himself in hopes that they tried to rebel against him and give him an excuse to run them through. Having armed, clearly skilled fighters being branded as heroes by the citizens who live in the border towns was just asking for a revolt. Hades, however, told Nico how they could nothing about it for now. It was either leave them to defend the towns who couldn’t be given the extra men to defend it properly, or kill them and make them martyrs. Then they truly will have a revolt on their hands. 

Those “Knights of Solace” have been around for four years, and now it was too late to do anything about them. Nico hopes they slip up, and give him the excuse to kill them, but for now he will wait.

“Do you believe the rumor?” Percy asked out of the blue. Nico hadn’t even noticed they both had been lost in their own heads and a silence had fallen in the room until it was suddenly broken.

“Which one?” Nico responded. 

“The one where Delphi is the reason behind all these monster attacks?” Nico had to roll his eyes at that. One of the biggest and most talked about thing that’s been spreading like wildfire was the sudden silence from Delphi. It’s always been on everyone’s lips and now people are starting to think they are the ones who summoned the monsters to weaken the kingdom, and that the Knights of Solace were knights from Delphi just waiting for the moment to strike.

Four years ago, before this chaos even began, merchants had journeyed from and wide to trade in the exotic silk Delphi is known for. One day though, the trade suddenly stopped and no one was willing to answer why. Any of the merchants who were asked would simply respond that a sandstorm was raging in the desert, making the trip too dangerous to make and there wasn’t any other way to reach Delphi. Eventually though the trade in silk had started to be felt by the nobility and inevitably the word reached King Zeus’ ear. Just to stop the squabbling of the nobles, Zeus had sent a missive to King Apollo to find out what was going on, but it never made it to Delphi. The courier had returned, stating that he tried to brave the sandstorm but every time he went in he simply came out where he started, no matter how many times he marked the path to prevent the issue. Curious, Zeus then sent a group of soldiers and a priest of the Goddess to the only road that leads to Delphi desert and the city beyond. When they returned they confirmed that there was a sandstorm practically serving as a barrier to prevent anyone from entering to which the priest also confirmed that the sandstorm wasn’t natural. Somehow that sandstorm serves as a barrier similar to the one covering the Blessed Forest, anyone who entered would be turned back around to the beginning.

“Paranoia breeds all kinds of conspiracy theories.” Nico vaguely concluded. He wasn’t going to paint Delphi in bad light until there was proof in front of his eyes.  
Percy paused for a moment before nodding his head, and that’s when all hell broke lose.

A loud screech pierced the skies, echoing across the sea below the city, followed by many less booming voices. Nico’s fighting instinct fell over him like a second skin as he practically leapt to the window. His scowl deepened at what he saw.

Hordes of monsters were pouring in from the valley above, jumping in to the sea that the castle hovers over. Standing at the bulk of the horde was a massive black creature, standing back and observing. To the untrained eye many would see it simply as a bigger monster but to a necromancer like Nico it was far worse. A dark power was radiating off it, spilling in waves and practically poisoning the ground at its feet. Even Nico and his many years of studying shadow magic had never seen anything so dark and twisted. It was as if it was darkness personified. Nico glanced back and saw the color had drained off of Percy’s face. 

“Annabeth…”

“Is fine Percy, you know nothing can take her down. We, however, have a huge problem on our hands. Let’s go.” Nico turned and walked to the door, strapping his sword that was sitting against the chair he vacated. Percy drew his sword and followed close behind.

Chaos had rained as the alarm was sounded. Guards were yelling orders and scrambling to posts, completely shocked into disarray.

“Damnit. It was careless to think that we were safe in a palace.” Nico cursed. Percy shook his head in exasperation, pulling ahead of Nico and making his way to the throne room. After a few turns that Nico couldn’t even begin to remember, Percy threw open the throne room’s door and rushed in. There in the throne room stood Percy’s father, King Poseidon, pacing back and forth while his advisers were practically chirping at him in agitation.

“Dad?” 

“Percy! Thank the Goddess you’re safe.”

“Your majesty.” Nico bowed.

“Ah Prince Nico, I wish we had time to talk but given the circumstances…”

“I understand sir.” Poseidon nodded grimly before turning to address his advisers. 

“The monsters are swarming in from the north east and north west. Order the evacuation, have the people escape from the main road leading to the south. It will put them on a direct path to Olympia Castle.” Poseidon ordered. There were cries of outrage from the advisers.

“Your majesty! There could be all kinds of monsters in the main road waiting in ambush. There is no way they would come from the cliffs above us and leave the main road unguarded.” One of the advisers spat.

“Untrue, the Knights of Solace have been patrolling that main road for weeks, and they were still there when we checked in on them an hour ago. If the main road was lost they would have pulled out ages ago and had a report sent to me.” 

“Wait dad, you’ve been letting them stay here?” Percy questioned, eyebrows nearly disappearing in his hairline. Nico was just as surprised but kept his usual stern look.

“Of course. They had a diplomat come here a few months back asking for permission to set up camps outside the villages close to the border. I gave them permission in exchange for any news as to what’s happening. I don’t think they anticipated this.” Poseidon explained. Nico kept his mouth closed to not give his piece on the subject and from the frustrated look on Percy’s face he was in the same boat.

“What do we do?” Percy asked instead. Poseidon’s frown deepened, and it seem like he aged twenty years.

“I had the order of evacuation sent out, we need to hold the monsters back until everyone has escaped.”

“A retreat? No, we can stand and fight!” Percy barked back, Nico nodding in agreement. There was no way Nico was going to miss out on a battle this important to run with his tail between his legs, and he was going to stay and fight. Poseidon opened his mouth to argue but a more soothing voice spoke first.

“Hush Percy and listen to your father. We cannot fight a battle while civilians are at risk. Better to fall back and fight another day, then risk harm falling on the innocent. It’s too risky despite your courage.” Queen Salandria said as she approached her husband and son. The Queen of Salrune, even under a stressful situation like this, still managed to look calm and loving while keeping a strong graceful air.

“Sally, what are you doing here? I thought I told the knights to escort you to a carriage.” 

“And leave my family behind? If I have to leave it will be together or not at all.” Sally shot back. Percy smiled at that.

“Okay mom, we’ll leave once we thinned down the herd. Coming Nico?” Percy turned towards his fellow prince. Nico gave a nod and the two of them left the throne room, making a quick pace to the courtyard.  
The sound of fighting could be heard from the courtyard, so Nico and Percy both drew their swords. They rounded a corner and was greeted with quite a sight. Monsters of all kinds were jumping in from above, swimming up the nearby waterfalls like the knights of Salrune are trained to do. Bodies, both human and not, littered the ground and the castles blue marble was stained red. 

Nico charged in, not even looking back at Percy, and decapitated the nearest amphisbaena, sending its serpent head sailing a foot away before stomping on it’s other head for good measure. Out of the corner of his eye Nico saw Percy running his sword through the belly of a monster Nico couldn't identify before joining his fellow prince. The dark prince sunk his blade deep in the neck of a harpy, but as he tried to lift the sword to block an oncoming attack his blade barely budged, stuck on something in the harpy’s neck. With a grunt of frustration, Nico swiped his free hand out and a wall of shadow burst from his hand, devouring the monster before the blow could land. The darkness Nico conjured started to gather around the corpse, and with a sickening crunch a horde of skeletons emerged with blades of darkness. With as much grace as the undead can muster, they turned on the nearest monsters, the darkness from their blades creating more shadows for more skeletons to spawn.

“I forgot how crazy your magic is.” Percy mumbled. Nico could only give a slight smirk in response before a loud roar filled the courtyard. The monster that concerned Nico had finally joined the fray.  
Time practically stopped when the creature landed with a hard thud in the center of the courtyard. Nico could see his breath as the air suddenly chilled, as if the beast’s presence alone could freeze the world. With a powerful roar, the beast raised his arm and the clouds started to gather. Little specks of white fell from the sky, and when Nico reached up to catch one he glanced at Percy.

“Snow…” Nico mumbled. Percy looked just as dumbfounded.

Sure enough, Nico caught a tiny snowflake and watched as it melted in his palm. A surprised gasped came from the other prince and Nico followed Percy’s gaze to what would be something Nico would never forget. Guards from the plains below the palace were swimming with expertly practiced strokes up the waterfalls that surround the castle to ambush the unsuspecting monster. But what they can’t see through the watery haze is the ice forming at the top of the waterfall. Very slowly, the ice clawed its way down the waterfall, the soldiers closer at the top having no time to get away and being frozen in place. The ice expanded faster and faster, the soldiers all being incased in a horrifyingly beautiful sculpture. The monster gave another roar, and more monsters poured into the palace grounds from the valley above.

“They’re going to overrun us soon…” Percy mumbled.

“There’s way too many of them. We need to fall back.” Nico advised. The prince of the sea gave a hesitant nod, still probably worried about his missing wife. With deadly grace the two princes moved back to back, with Nico leading them away from the courtyard but the huge monster noticed them. With a sickening cry, it leapt into the air and landed with a loud thud, causing its fellow monsters and some of the soldiers who didn’t get away in time to collapse under its muscular weight. That was when Nico realized he could see the monster more clearly. It was tall, towering over the prince, with a single eye that was practically boring into his soul. Veins of deep red were crisscrossed on its body, but it would constantly shift as if trying to avoid Nico’s eyes, and the air around it was visible, too cold that even people from afar could see it if they strained to look.

The beast lifted a hefty blade that Nico didn’t even notice. Well….shit.

“Percy…move!” Nico called as he grabbed said prince and yanked him to the side. The blade whizzed by them both, slicing the space that both of them vacated a split second before. The dark prince was perplexed; for wielding such a huge blade it could move very quickly. Percy growled, and lifting his sword, slashed the air in front of him, the moisture in the air turning into a scythe of water barreling towards the creature. However, the beast simply raised his hand, the scythe of water freezing nearly an inch from its face. Nico shot a glance at Percy and saw the look of surprise on his face. It was almost as if this creature was made to counter Percy’s attacks. Nico also knew that they weren’t going anywhere as long as this beast was in their way, and he doubted it would let them leave either.

With a tap of his foot Nico recalled a lot of the skeletons back to his side, leaving a few to continue helping the other soldiers keep the other beasts at bay. As a test run, Nico sent a few of them forward to attack and test the waters, signaling the other prince to hold off for now. The first wave of skeletons approached the colossal, swinging their shadow blades in a wide arc. The blades bounced off their thick..muscle?...and only managed to piss the beast off. There wasn’t any bleeding or any sort of wound, which discouraged Nico greatly. Normal weapons he suspected wouldn’t work but a magical blade didn’t work either? Nico wasn’t one to brag either when he calls himself a master of shadow magic as well.

More skeletons ran at the beast, trying to actually do some damage to it, but nothing seemed to be working. Their attacks did nothing and the beast would cut them down, and the skeletons would dissolve into a pile of shadow. Nico tapped his sword to the ground, muttering a few words in Astiran, and a long stripe of shadow crawled from his sword along the ground, resting directly beneath the beast (Nico just now noticed it was floating for whatever reason). The shadows broke and tendrils of darkness lept on the beast, tying its arms down and keeping it in place. The remaining skeletons knew the opportunity that was presented to them and started to pile on top of the creature. Body after body of undead bones started to stack on it, higher and higher to at least keep it trapped.

“Quickly everyone, while the beast is held back, RETREAT!” Percy bellowed. Nico turned and looked around, seeing exactly why the prince was giving the order. When this battle first began there were at least 80 guards strong, keeping a lot of the approaching horde at bay but now Nico could only count 30 guards now. More than half have already been lost, while the monster count practically tripled. At least with their supposed leader currently tied down, the other monsters seemed confused on how to proceed, giving the humans, some breathing room.

A wave of blue gathered together, the silver heads of their helmets glinting in the sun as they made a break for the exit. Some of the more small-minded creatures tried to step in their paths to stop them, only to be cut down before they could even raise their claws to strike. The cleverer monsters knew to keep back for now, and wait for a moment to enter the fray. Nico and Percy both ran to catch up with the other guards, the prince of the sea guarding the other’s back. 

“Your Highness. His Majesty and the Queen are in a carriage awaiting your arrival. An escape ride has also been prepared for you as well Prince Nico.” One of the guards said. Nico nodded.

“We should get go-“ Nico never got to finish his order. A loud scream cut him off, and Nico’s blood ran cold. That scream sounded all too familiar.

Percy was standing at Nico’s back, a giant claw piercing through his chest. Nico looked to where it came from and his eyes widened. The beast that was buried under a pile of bone had managed to find a pocket in it’s cage and was able to shoot…some sort of projectile, which hit the unsuspecting sea prince.

“PERCY!” Nico ran to try and catch him before he fell but then things got even more surprising.

Right before Percy’s head met the ground, Nico’s hands went through him as Percy vanished in a flash of golden light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HEY I'm not DEAD! And thank goodness I wrote an outline for this story or I would be confused as hell as to where to take this story after taking forever just to write one chapter! Also if the characters seem a bit OOC...well...oh well
> 
> Comments/Kudos are my life blood, and as for chapters...it'll happen when it happens *shrugs*


	3. Four Long Years

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The sign Will was waiting four years for finally arrives
> 
> A side note as well, I figured out where I could add the guardians into this story and so they are now included in this story! How could I not add the most annoying enemy in the game in this AU?

Four long painful years had gone by and Will was losing hope. Here he was, crouched in the dirt with a stone arrow notched in a makeshift bow, hunting for his dinner while the world was going to end sometime soon. Four years, and his family was holding down the calamity that will rain death and chaos elsewhere. And worse still, the holding spell could slowly be killing them or they will be killed when the creature eventually breaks free. Four years is a long time…Will shook his head. He shouldn’t be thinking like that. He has to believe that they are okay and that everything will work out.

 It’s not like he has been idle these last four years. While he kept an eye on the Temple, Travis and Connor were preparing. The survivors of Delphi were slowly being trained how to fight, with no short amount of volunteers since many of them eager for vengeance. Then the numbers have slowly been growing when people from the villages they saved from monster attacks wanted to help out. That was a surprise to Will every time Conner or Travis came by the Plateau with reports of their progress. It was odd to imagine that people were so willing to help the “rebels” that the kingdoms have branded them. Will found it funny that they were called rebels, since they were only helping people attacked by monsters, not trying to turn the citizens against their respective royal families. All the “Knights of Solace” (Will still has to roll his eyes at the ridiculous use of his last name) were trying to do is warn the kingdoms that danger will soon be upon them. Of course, they were ignored instead, and branded rebels to chase off any support they could possibly gain. But Will knows the tides will change to their favor, and soon. The monsters have been getting bold lately, and Will suspects that it won’t be long before one of the capital cities is attacked.

 Will bit his lower lip in annoyance. If only they could talk to the kings of this lands, and tell them that Kronos has returned. But deep down Will knew, they wouldn’t believe him; not until their homelands were ripped out from under them like in Delphi. By the time that happens though, if Will and his followers don’t play this right, it would be too late. There may not be enough people to fight the coming chaos. What a sickening feeling that left Will’s stomach in. What was once a nobody prince, now holds the fate of all of Olympia in his hands.

 A twig snapped to his right and Will quickly ducked behind a nearby tree. There, a few feet in front of him, was a large boar grazing in the grass, not too far from a herd of them. It was also a bonus because it hadn’t noticed Will yet, and with the wind blowing as hard as it was, Will could take it out without alerting the others. He hoped for a silent kill on this one, then he can take out a few more before they noticed something wrong. If it played out like that, he wouldn’t have to go hunting for weeks.

 Will glanced down at his arrow and sighed. The stone was sharp enough to pierce but it wouldn’t kill the boar on the first shot, not with how fat the pig was. If the arrowhead didn’t somehow kill it first shot, it would squeal in pain until Will would come to put it down but then the others would run off in a panic. Moving as quietly as possible, Will took his quiver off his back and examined his arrows. Most of them were hand made from stones and sticks, which he spends days at a time making, but they are exactly the same as the one he was planning on using. Then he looked at his steel arrows. There weren’t as many as there were when he started out, mostly because of…the attack (that memory had to be beaten down before Will lost it). What little arrows were left Will kept tucked away to save for emergencies. Then there was one special arrow that Will dares not to use. After he recovered from his injuries from “the attack” he found that arrow in his empty quiver (before he went to see what arrows he could salvage from his fallen enemies) except it had been missing a feather. Will had tied one of the feathers that had shed off of Witherfang’s wing, and then it started to glow. With a curse Will had stashed the arrow back into the quiver. Whatever the arrow was, it was powerful and if the prince had to guess, he would need it later.

 As quietly as possible, Will pulled out one of the steel arrows, nodding in satisfaction when pricked his finger slightly from the barest touch. It was sharp, which could easily pierce the hide of the boar with no problem. Notching the arrow, he took a peek from behind his cover and was relieved to see the herd still present. He had seven steel arrows left, which was enough to take down most of the herd. He doubted he would be that lucky but a man could hope. Taking a deep breath Will shifted out of his cover until he had a clear shot, arrow drawn…

 And gasped when a monster hopped onto one of the boar’s backs, causing the herd to jump up and run in a panic. Muttering a curse, Will watched as the goblin started bashing the poor boar’s face in with a club before taking aim. In a flash of anger, Will let the arrow fly, and it hit the boar right between the eyes. The goblin shrieked in surprise as the boar dropped dead, launching it forward and face planting into the dirt. _A merciful death._ With practiced grace, Will notched one of his stone arrows and fired again, hitting the goblin straight in the leg right below the knee. It crumpled to the ground after it attempted to stand up, but then it started to crawl away with a another loud shriek. Will simply waited.

 Sure enough, as Will was hoping for, it’s cries were answered. Three more goblins ran out of the bushes from the south and crowded around the wounded one. It was a hunting party, no doubt they were out scavenging for food since there weren’t any villages to pillage here on the Plateau. Goblins were known to do that; look for the unguarded villages far from the cities, kill all of the people living in them, and take what little supplies they might have had. Seeing goblins never failed to leave an angry knot in Will’s stomach. Quietly as possibly, Will climbed up the tree he was hiding behind and examined the scene.

 One of the goblin’s was still crying out in pain, while two of the new additions were fussing over it. One of them was scanning the trees, Will’s arrow in its three-fingered hand. So, they haven’t figured out where he was yet, that was good. The one that was trying to find him would have to go first, and the injured one would be last. He just had to make sure to get them before they managed to get the injured one back on its feet. Will looked down at himself, thank Goddess he chose to wear his dark hunting clothes and had his hood up to cover his bright blonde hair, he blended into the trees which is the only reason he hasn’t been spotted yet.

In a quick motion, Will notched another stone arrow and let it go, the arrow hitting the tree trunk right next to the one looking for him. It whipped its head around to examine the projectile, which is exactly what the prince was hoping for. He launched another arrow quickly, piercing the goblins throat and watched as it gave a choked gargle before collapsing. The other two goblins turned from tending to their wounded friend in time for an arrow to hit one right in the heart, and the other right in its own eye. Will smirked slightly, he was much better at fighting then before his flight from Delphi. The first of the goblin pack, Will simply watched from his perch in the tree. It’s leg wound was bandaged with poorly assembled cloth and it was still standing but had an obvious limp now. It was hissing into the trees, no doubt at him, and trying to run away as quickly as it possibly could. It was clumsy and slow, and it wouldn’t take much at all to kill it, but Will did not. He simply chose to wait. As the goblin vanished behind the tree line, Will jumped down from his hiding spot and looked at the boar that was the unfortunate member of this party. Well… At least he would have some meat for dinner (and not as much as he hoped damn those goblins) but now it had to wait. Will pulled a rope from his knapsack that he had stashed in a hole in the tree he had been using as cover the whole time, before throwing the knapsack over his shoulders. With practiced ease he turned the rope into a makeshift net (he made sure to carry a lot of rope with him in case he needed another way off the Plateau) and laid it on the ground. He tossed another rope over a sturdy branch then dragged the boar over to the net. Connecting the net to the extra rope, Will began to pull the boar up, then left it dangling from a tree. That way, no predators would steal his food and birds this far north wouldn’t eat this kind of meat.

 And now that his food was secure it was time for the real hunt. Will made his way to where the goblin had disappeared and sure enough it left an obvious trail. There was blood left on the ground from its bleeding leg, and the grass was parted where something with a heavy footfall was walking. A smile played on the former prince’s lips. No doubt the goblin would return to its home to recover and warn its pack of the danger but that just makes the hunt much easier. Will walked south (he also made sure to collect his steel arrow as he went), the trail in the corner of his eye and his hand on the sword attached to the smalls of his back.

 Eventually the blood led out of the forest and into the valley, and when Will looked out across the sea of green, he could make out the feint outline of the monster in question trudging along at a slow pace. Good, that means it hasn’t alerted others to his presence yet. Removing his hand from his sword, Will broke off to a sprint to shorten the gap, only slowing far enough away to not alert the monster yet.

 Eventually the goblin turned to and slid down into a dip in the valley, almost as if there was a sinkhole in the grass. Peering down into it, Will saw a cave opening carved into the cliff hugging the dip in the valley. If he hadn’t followed the goblin, then he never would have known this was here. Withdrawing his bow from his back, Will notched one of his stone arrows and waited. A few more steps and the goblin confirmed his suspicion that it was in fact its home, and so Will let the arrow go. Quick and silent, the arrow went through its throat to cut off its cries, instead the only sound was its body collapsing to the ground.

 Sliding down carefully Will approached the cave and listened. There were sounds of claws against stone and the grinding sound of weapons being dragged along the ground. Based on the noise, Will could guess that this was a big nest of goblins and going in would be suicide. He didn’t have the natural night vision they had, and Will would absolutely walk into one of them without thinking.

 Backing away, Will climbed back out of the sink hole and crouched down to think. The best thing he could do was lure them out, but there was the risk of them retreating back into their nest, and that’s also assuming that all of them would come out in the first place. Not killing all of them would pose a problem later, so Will _had_ to dispose every single one. Sighing, Will examined the terrain. The entrance to the nest was surrounded by cliffs…that’s when Will had an idea. Once a few weeks ago, the prince stumbled upon a stone talus, a giant rock creature. Will didn’t have the weapons to deal with the creature and chose to retreat. They were mostly peaceful anyway, so long as he stayed away from it’s resting ground. If Will could lure it into the sinkhole, it wouldn’t be able to escape and it would just as likely attack the goblins then it would him.

 Will stood and started walking north again towards the trees. A few feet from the tree line, slightly west from where Will originally exited the forest while following the goblin, was a giant pile of rocks sitting next to a lake. People would normally think nothing was amiss, Will included, until someone approached the lake. Stopping a short distance away, Will eyed the pile of rocks closely while sliding his pack off his back. Opening it Will pushed his medical supplies aside (never hurts to be prepared) and pulled a tiny little bag out. Opening it, Will examined the “gift” that Jake Mason had made for him. From a quick glance it would look like a bag of marbles, but knowing Mason, it was anything but. From what Connor told him about the marbles, they were actually tiny bombs that, when thrown, expand to four times it size before exploding on whatever impacts it.

 Pulling a few from the bag before putting it away, Will strapped his pack on again and approached the lake.

 The water was crystal clear and clean, with a few fish swimming merrily around the limited space. If Will could pull off what he was about to attempt, he would be killing two birds with one stone. Having the talus trapped in a hole and away from the lake meant Will would finally have access to this lake. He would have to come back later and catch some fish, to make up for all the boars that got away earlier in the day.

 Stopping right on the edge of the pond, Will heard the undeniable sound of the talus getting up. Turning he watched as the tinier stones started to shift into makeshift legs, while the bigger rocks started to line up to form the body. The sound of stone grinding as it came together was something that never failed to terrify Will ever since he came across the creature, especially since one false move and it could crush him flat.

 The grinding stopped as the talus finished assembling itself, and the ground shook as it took a step towards Will. Steeling himself, Will dove to the side as its “arm” came crashing down, sending dirt into the air where he was originally standing. Will started running back towards the sinkhole, occasionally looking back for incoming projectiles.

 Swearing Will sidestepped again, narrowly avoiding a boulder that was tossed his way. As for the talus itself, it was slowly giving chase, but its big bulky body made it difficult to keep up with the prince. Taking advantage of its slow speed, Will turned around as it was preparing to throw another boulder and tossed one of the bombs.

 It sailed through the air, expanded to the size of a canon ball, and landed right on the talus’ head before exploding. Smoke obscured the creature’s body and Will stood poise in case a boulder suddenly came flying. More stone grinding, and Will sidestepped again right as another boulder soared through the smoke. The talus emerged from the smoke shortly after, taking large steps to catch up. Will took a breath and burst into a sprint, coming to a quick halt right outside the sinkhole, the talus gaining ground in its fury to catch Will.

 Will crouched outside, listening to the goblins pouring out of the cave below, no doubt feeling the earth shake from every step the talus was taking. Will paused a few seconds more, waiting for the talus until it was almost on top of him before he turned and jumped into the hole.

 All Will could feel was his gut going into his throat during his free fall. Quick as lightning, he drew his sword and plunged it into the goblin’s stomach as he landed on it. Will quickly sucked in air after it was knocked out of him and, instead of attacking the goblins, withdrew his sword from the goblin he used as a landing pad and sprinted away. Only a few seconds later Will heard the sound of a terrified cry and rock hitting the ground really hard, the talus followed him down. All of the goblins that Will could see from the corner of his eye turned away from him and focused on the new threat, just as he hoped. Will picked up the pace in hopes that his plan actually worked and, as he started to scramble up the other side of the sinkhole, it sounded like it had.

 After feet connected with grass, the former prince turned around and examined his handy work. The goblins had surrounded the talus, trying to drive it back with wooden spears and cheap metal blades, with little success. As for the stone creature, it had turned its focus from Will to the goblins that were attempted to stab it and was simply crushing them like berries under foot. To say that it was brutal would be an understatement, those goblins didn’t stand a chance. As the talus started to dwindle their numbers, some of them retreated back into their caves in hopes of escaping the stone beast. What surprised Will was how vindictive the stone talus was. As the last of the goblins retreated into their caves, the talus stomped over to the cave mouth and _sat over it._ The stone talus was the perfect size, covering the whole cave entrance and trapping the remaining goblins inside. Will doubted the goblins would be getting out any time soon, it seemed the talus had accepted its new home (there was no way it could climb out of the sinkhole).

 With a crude smirk, Will turned on his heels and walked back towards the forest. He had a boar to reclaim and now some fish to catch.

 ~0~0~

 Will halted in the tune he was humming as he walked out of his cabin. It was time for the somber task of visiting the Goddess’ temple once again, only in vain hope for a sign that it was finally time to leave the Plateau. It’s been two years since the last attack on the temple, and Will was ready to leave to rejoin his people in the savanna outside Delphi’s desert.

The sound of wings broke Will from his train of thought and Witherfang landed not far from the prince.

 “Hello old friend. Come baring news?” Will cooed, running his fingers through the griffon’s fringe. She chirped in response and lifted her head so Will could untie the satchel around her neck. Will did so carefully, making sure not to accidentally pluck any of her feathers, and placed the satchel on the ground. Opening it, Will found some reports sitting at the bottom, no doubt weeks old but Will appreciated that Connor and Travis were trying to keep him updated on what was going on, and a bundle of…something…as well. Will picked up the bundle and carefully unraveled it, finding a bunch of throwing knives made of steel glinting in the sunlight and a piece of paper. Smiling, Will lifted the paper and was greeted with Travis’ messy handwriting.

 ‘ _My prince, finally finished sharpening and enchanting those daggers, they should pack a bigger punch now. In fact, they should be able to cut through anything made of flesh so you’re welcome!’_

Will picked one of them up and made a few test swipes, the metal singing as it sliced through the air. What caught Will off guard was the tingle of lightning that raced through his fingers as he held the knife, enchanted indeed. Will tucked his gift back into the satchel and started sifting through the reports. A quick glance from them was typical troop placements (mostly in the border towns), and Travis’ report on training progress. With a sigh Will picked up the satchel and continued the journey to the temple, Witherfang following close behind him.

 The walk to the temple was quiet, the plateau having no population of humans other than the prince himself, and it was nothing more than an open field surrounding the temple before being swallowed by trees. The temple (and the shack Will had built he supposed) were the only buildings on the Plateau.

 Witherfang made an agitated chirp when Will walked past the first guardian. The guardians were built thousands of years ago, around the first time Kronos had tried to destroy the world. At first, they were made to combat the unending army of monsters at the Titan’s command, but when the war had been won the guardians had simply migrated to the Plateau to watch over the temple. It was a mystery why, because no one ordered them to go there in the first place. Many people believed that the Goddess had simply called the guardians to safeguard her temple, but 50,000 years with no one to do upkeep on the machines was too long no matter how powerful they were. One by one the guardians simply…stopped working, and so their shells remained. The closer Will got to the temple, the more guardians there were, and the prince understood Witherfang’s agitation. It really was unnerving, being around so many dead machines. There were days Will suspected they would all just…wake up?...one day. There were also days when he wished they did because he could have used the help during the more serious attacks, but Will was no engineer.

 The closer Will was to the temple, the more guardians there were, all rusted and frozen in place as if time had simply stopped for them. Will had to climb over a few of the ones blocking the door, Witherfang simply hopping over them with ease.  The temple was falling apart, the vines and wildlife probably the only things keeping the walls in place. Will never understood it, the only shrine to their Goddess, and it was on the Plateau where no one could really reach it unless they had wings. Will stepped carefully up the stairs, and once he reached the final step, examined the room.

 It was what one would expect from a shrine. A large statue of the Goddess Hecate stood at the far end of the room with her arms outstretched, as if ready to cast a deadly spell. Surrounding Her was the dais the High Priestess would stand to give sermons as well as a lot of long burned down candles.  Rows and rows of benches faced the dais, as if there were a bunch of people who lived here ready to hear the words of the Goddess. As far as Will knew, maybe there had been a civilization up on the Plateau, or maybe this land hadn’t been a Plateau in the first place. Quietly as possible, so not to disturb the ghosts of the place, Will approached the statue of the Goddess and dropped to his knees, hands clasped together in prayer.

 “Please, I’ve been here long enough and my work here has to be done. It’s been four years and the world could be ending this very moment while I’ve been sitting here…my family could be…” Will stopped that train of thought with a gulp of air. Tentatively, Will unclasped his hands to wipe the single tear that unknowingly escaped his right eye.

 “Please…”

 The only response was silence. “Of course…” Will mumbled, getting up and dusting his knees off. As Will turned away from the statue, he ran a hand through Witherfang’s fringe lovingly…and stopped suddenly when a bright light flashed behind him.

 Witherfang chirped angrily at the statue as Will whipped around, blade attached to his back already drawn. A golden light continued to expand at the base of the statue, and Will had to look away as it continued to grow brighter. As quick as it started though it ended and, when Will could finally open his eyes, there at the feet of the Goddess was an unconscious man…

 And he was slowly bleeding out.


End file.
